Posts Tagged ‘sarah st lifer’

Some things, like croissants, beret hats, and the Eiffel Tower, are just inherently French. But no one in history sums up that je ne sais quoi quite like Brigitte Bardot. The blonde beauty was first and foremost an aspiring ballet dancer, but quickly caught the eye of directors and film crews. In the ’60s and ’70s, the beach babe pioneered an ultra-feminine style that was at once ladylike and playfully innocent.

It goes without saying that her famous hair and makeup helped rocket the doe-eyed darling into style icon status. Her cat-eye liner was so noir, you could probably see it from space (a slight exaggeration, of course!). And, whether she was sunning herself in Saint Tropez or at a swanky soiree, you can bet her tresses were voluminous and elicited many oh-la-la’s. Her affinity for ribbons (perhaps an homage to her dancing days?) birthed one of our fave Bardot looks: The half up, half down with a black bow, as seen in Viva Maria. That, paired with a slick winged eye is pretty much the most universally flattering hair-and-makeup combo on the planet (that, we’re not over-exaggerating!). Say “bonjour” to your new signature style! If you don’t think you can pull off the bow, that’s okay! The voluminous bounce paired with pulling a little hair off of your face is a little more wearable for every day. Here’s how it’s done!

Start with clean dry hair.

Part the hair from your ear straight up on to the top of your head.

Part the other side and join them together on top of your head.

Use a ponytail holder (same color as your hair or a clear elastic) and secure the small pony on top of your head.

Smooth any baby hairs using hairspray and the fine side of your comb.

If you don’t need extra hair, skip to step 9! If you do need a little extra umph, part the back of your hair in a horseshoe shape going from ear to ear.

Tease the section where you’re going to clip in extensions.

Add a clip in track of extensions. We used a extensions that are one shade lighter than our hair to add some demension.

This is what it looks like once the ponytail is up and the extensions are in.

Add a little thickening spray or setting spray before curling. We used Oribe Thickening Spray.

Put all of your hair in rollers. Don’t worry about dents– if you get them you can gently tap them out with a flat iron later.

Once the rollers have cooled, remove them and spray a veil of flexible hairspray.

Use a soft brush to brush out the curls.

For a less “roller set” look, lightly flatiron the ends!

Finish the hair with a little texturizing paste if your hair is super soft or fine, or serum if your hair is more on the dry side.

Call us old-fashioned, but we always keep a notepad + ink handy. Even in the age of iCals and digital to-do lists, we still rely on the trusty ball-point pen. And, when your 9-to-5 revolves around beauty, not just any stack of paper will do. Enter, Rifle Paper C! Husband/wife team Anna + Nathan Bond‘s nostalgia-inducing stationary is (literally) one for the books. We were so smitten with the floral print pads (a similar set is now available at Target, FYI!) that our mani-master went straight to work on some inspired nail art. Whether your garden rivals Versailles or features a single potted plant, this is one surefire way to earn that green thumb you’ve always wanted. Follow Anna on Instagram for more fancy floral inspiration: @AnnaRifleBond. Ok, here we go!

Below you’ll find the color key for all the polishes we used. You can use the same or something similar.

The best thing about this manicure is that the no flower will ever look the same since they’re hand painted. Don’t get frustrated if your flower doesn’t look exactly like the picture. You’ll notice our flowers that were painted on the actual nail vs the flowers done below for instruction look totally different!

Tool-wise you will need: A few very small paint brushes (I even used the ends of the paintbrush sometimes–that’s the blue stick you see below), a dotting tool, a mechanical pencil.

Ring Finger:

Make 5-7 petals using a bright red nail polish with it’s own brush.

Add a black dot of polish to the center.

Swirl it around gently using a mechanical pencil or dotting tool.

Add a couple of brush strokes, using your rust color and your thinnest brush, just outside of the black dot.

Add leaves to the left side.

Add leaves to the right side.

Throw in a touch of gold for good measure!

Middle Finger:

Make 4 dots with a light peach color using the back of your paintbrush (or something larger than a dotting tool).

Drop a dot of coral polish in the center.

Drop a dot of rust polish in the center of the coral.

Gently swirl the center using a mechanical pencil. Allow it to dry a little before moving to the next step.

Use a dotting tool to add a black dot to the center.

Now use a mechanical pencil to add tiny dots around the black dot.

Use a small paintbrush and dark green polish to add leaves to both sides.

Add gold to the center of the leaves using a mechanical pencil. You can see I added a couple extra coral brush strokes to the center of the flower. You can do that or you don’t have to. Totally optional!

Index Finger: (I’m showing you this over a green painted swatch so you can see it!)

At the corner of your nail, make 4-5 white petals.

With a thin brush and teal paint, add 3 or 4 lines to each side of the flower.

Now you’re going to alternate gold + peach brush strokes for the center of the flower. I started with gold.

Then peach strokes inside of those.

Then gold strokes inside of those.

Then another peach stroke or 2 inside of those.

Last but not least, the Pinky + Thumb fingers:

Use your thinnest brush and darkest green polish to make the twig shape seen in step 1.

Use a dotting tool or the back of the paintbrush to add teal “berries” to the the ends the twig stems.

Add a solid topcoat over everything and have the best time staring at your fingers for the next week or so. We sure did. If you spend the time doing this we would LOVE to see it on instagram! Tag us @TheBeautyDept! xo

Whether you have long hair, short hair, curly hair, straight hair, fine hair, thick hair, wavy hair, natural hair or fake hair, you should own this brush. Many others boast the ability to glide through dry hair like NBD, but we’ve been hard-pressed to find a brush that eliminates tangles without the inevitable Advil dosage post-styling. Short + thick bristles barely get the job done, leaving paddles looking like a stray strand graveyard. Well, while on vacay, our TBD hair guru did the unthinkable — stuffed a suitcase but forgot to pack a brush. Naturally, she hightailed it to the nearest drugstore and scooped up a replacement– this Conair Detangling Brush to be exact. The packaging promised zero snagging and hair-pulling, all for less than $5. Hesitant, she took the new tool to her hotel room — and hasn’t put the thing down since! Mayyyybe our entire team has followed suit, and mayyyybe she bought one for each of her salon clients. Why? Well, because this thing delivers. Knots from damaged ends are a distant memory, and one touch to your roots and you’re in instant cranium heaven — it seriously doubles as a scalp massager. Trust, there will be no more wincing with each stroke — a true blessing for those with sensitive scalps, especially now that the windows are down every time we get behind the wheel!

Ps– I know curly girls are going to challenge the opinion that hair can be brushed while dry, but just give this brush a shot before inserting an opinion! It’s incredibly flexible/soft and truly does not break the hair off.

*For more of our affordable beauty favorites, check out the Pinboard we’ve created with Target during the month of May.